By Hope F.
Editor’s note: Workplace Lactation Week is celebrated annually September 1-7. This year’s theme is Work. Pump. Advance. Empowering the modern parent. You can learn more about Workplace Lactation Week on this webpage.
When my daughter was four months old, I took a job at an office that had turned a storage area into a lactation room. It had an odd, narrow door at the back that made me vaguely nervous because it locked from the outside and had no markings hinting at what was on the other side. Once, when there was maintenance going on and a nearby utility room was open, I saw the other side. Squarely in the center of the door was a sign that said, “Do Not Enter – Breast Feeding Room.” The sign was reassuring and a little comical. There was an upholstered chair and an ancient fleece blanket in the room. I doubt anyone had done anything other than pump in there. Over the seven months I used the room, I occasionally thought about the sign and the things I wish it (and perhaps a second sign on the more commonly used front door) had said instead. Some other options I thought of might be:
Lactation Room: Expect to be occupied for more than 15 minutes
When I started my position, I was assured that my employer supported breastfeeding and that since all employees were given two 15 minute breaks per day to use at their discretion, it would be no difficulty at all for me to fit my pumping in. What I discovered was that no one ever actually took those breaks, so I stuck out like a sore thumb when I took my breaks.
As a result, I would sit in the lactation room, laser focused on the timer on top of my pump to make sure it never ran for more than 15 minutes. With redressing and putting my milk away, I never got my breaks down to fewer than 23 minutes. I was able to convince my supervisor that 15 minutes on the pump was the minimum needed, though I got the impression that she thought I was some poor unfortunate individual who let down slowly and pumped inefficiently. I used the restroom only at lunch and after work, no matter how uncomfortable it got. I became skilled at slipping a snack out of the fridge while doing something else, so that I didn’t look like I was taking extra time. I was exhausted by the end of every day, working to make sure my pumping was as fast and inobtrusive as possible. I always wondered if, by providing excellent internal customer service, I was somehow shorting my daughter, who mattered much more to me than nosy sorts in other departments.
Lactation Room: Cleanup Required
During the months I pumped at work, my lunch breaks were entirely dedicated to pumping. I would take a quick restroom break and wash my pump parts from the morning. Then I’d pump and wash them again for the afternoon. No matter where I washed, I seemed to be in the way. When I washed in the main break room, people talked about it as a curiosity, so much so that I had to explain to my supervisor that I was not taking time during the work day to wash but only at lunch. When I washed at the tiny galley sink on the first floor near the lactation room to save time, people complained that I was too much in the way because I startled them on their way to pick up copies. I was eventually relegated to an odd little kitchen off of a board room on the second floor that was theoretically unused. I still managed to be underfoot for people heating up food in the microwave or washing their own dishes.
Lactation Room: Not Just for New Parents
In all, I breastfed my daughter for 25 months. Throughout her second year, I continued to pump at lunch for my comfort and to maintain supply. Shortly before her first birthday, I considered asking if I could continue using the lactation room just at lunch, but I was too scared to ask my supervisor. I doubted she would understand my desire to continue breastfeeding, and I no longer had legal protection from the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act. I was fortunate to live within walking distance of my office and could (as long as I was quick about it) walk home, pump, and walk back (or run – if I took too long) within the space of an hour. There were plenty of days in the winter that were cold or wet or both, and days throughout the year when I had a lot to do and it would have been nice to be able to slip into the lactation room and pump there. I wished there was a way to make extended breastfeeding visible for working parents.
The conditions for those who choose to pump at my workplace have improved from what they were in the past. I never experienced people walking in on me or having to pump in workplace bathrooms, as some of the older parents complained of doing. However, there is still much work needed to educate the general public about how breastfeeding and pumping work together, the time commitment they entail, and the respect and support lactating parents deserve. I am not sure how to educate the workforce generally in a meaningful way, but I hope my story plants the seed of change in others and makes lactation at work a better experience for the next generation of parents who sit in awkward little lactation rooms to provide an irreplaceable gift to their babies.
Submit your stories and breastfeeding or parenting experiences to [email protected]
More resources about working and breastfeeding:
Supporting Breastfeeding Families–Today, Tomorrow, Always
Please consider donating to La Leche League USA.
Your gift helps support this blog and the website!
Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted. Thank you!
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Posted: August 25, 2026 by Yael Breimer
Workplace Lactation Week: What the Sign Should Have Said
By Hope F.
When my daughter was four months old, I took a job at an office that had turned a storage area into a lactation room. It had an odd, narrow door at the back that made me vaguely nervous because it locked from the outside and had no markings hinting at what was on the other side. Once, when there was maintenance going on and a nearby utility room was open, I saw the other side. Squarely in the center of the door was a sign that said, “Do Not Enter – Breast Feeding Room.” The sign was reassuring and a little comical. There was an upholstered chair and an ancient fleece blanket in the room. I doubt anyone had done anything other than pump in there. Over the seven months I used the room, I occasionally thought about the sign and the things I wish it (and perhaps a second sign on the more commonly used front door) had said instead. Some other options I thought of might be:
Lactation Room: Expect to be occupied for more than 15 minutes
When I started my position, I was assured that my employer supported breastfeeding and that since all employees were given two 15 minute breaks per day to use at their discretion, it would be no difficulty at all for me to fit my pumping in. What I discovered was that no one ever actually took those breaks, so I stuck out like a sore thumb when I took my breaks.
As a result, I would sit in the lactation room, laser focused on the timer on top of my pump to make sure it never ran for more than 15 minutes. With redressing and putting my milk away, I never got my breaks down to fewer than 23 minutes. I was able to convince my supervisor that 15 minutes on the pump was the minimum needed, though I got the impression that she thought I was some poor unfortunate individual who let down slowly and pumped inefficiently. I used the restroom only at lunch and after work, no matter how uncomfortable it got. I became skilled at slipping a snack out of the fridge while doing something else, so that I didn’t look like I was taking extra time. I was exhausted by the end of every day, working to make sure my pumping was as fast and inobtrusive as possible. I always wondered if, by providing excellent internal customer service, I was somehow shorting my daughter, who mattered much more to me than nosy sorts in other departments.
Lactation Room: Cleanup Required
During the months I pumped at work, my lunch breaks were entirely dedicated to pumping. I would take a quick restroom break and wash my pump parts from the morning. Then I’d pump and wash them again for the afternoon. No matter where I washed, I seemed to be in the way. When I washed in the main break room, people talked about it as a curiosity, so much so that I had to explain to my supervisor that I was not taking time during the work day to wash but only at lunch. When I washed at the tiny galley sink on the first floor near the lactation room to save time, people complained that I was too much in the way because I startled them on their way to pick up copies. I was eventually relegated to an odd little kitchen off of a board room on the second floor that was theoretically unused. I still managed to be underfoot for people heating up food in the microwave or washing their own dishes.
Lactation Room: Not Just for New Parents
In all, I breastfed my daughter for 25 months. Throughout her second year, I continued to pump at lunch for my comfort and to maintain supply. Shortly before her first birthday, I considered asking if I could continue using the lactation room just at lunch, but I was too scared to ask my supervisor. I doubted she would understand my desire to continue breastfeeding, and I no longer had legal protection from the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act. I was fortunate to live within walking distance of my office and could (as long as I was quick about it) walk home, pump, and walk back (or run – if I took too long) within the space of an hour. There were plenty of days in the winter that were cold or wet or both, and days throughout the year when I had a lot to do and it would have been nice to be able to slip into the lactation room and pump there. I wished there was a way to make extended breastfeeding visible for working parents.
Submit your stories and breastfeeding or parenting experiences to [email protected]
More resources about working and breastfeeding:
Supporting Breastfeeding Families–Today, Tomorrow, Always
Please consider donating to La Leche League USA.
Your gift helps support this blog and the website!
Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted. Thank you!
Follow us on:
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Category: Making It Work, Pumping, Workplace Lactation Week
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